


Rings of Duality

by StoriesofAShadow



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 00:42:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16692085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoriesofAShadow/pseuds/StoriesofAShadow
Summary: The first and only child of the Kusligts family, as well as the guardian of his manor, is given a task by a rather odd stranger: to search for this person's rings that have been lost in the world of Remnant. This is the story of his adventures to find those rings.





	Rings of Duality

If to hunt is an occupation, then there shall be gold in murder. That is what my family has stood for ever since our financial rise, even if it wasn’t said publicly. While the Schnee company thrived on its dust selling, my family, the Kusligts, prioritized its creative selection of weaponry. Much to the surprise of my father and grandfather, many people required different assortments of ordnance, either for home protection, for militia or even official military, and for students who wish to partake in hunting. As both heads of the family knew the basics of economics, it took no time for them to capitalize on the demand, soon becoming one of the richest families in our then small town. However, much like in the ancient fairy tales, a sudden rise to fame and glory will have an equally sudden fall.

While people still purchase weapons from shops, albeit seldom, my father couldn’t accept the advancements in technology, preferring the nostalgia of metal and wood instead of steel and bullets. Soon the name of Kusligts became an obscure memory, only used in pawn shops or antique collections from the past generation. The manor that my family used to own fell into disarray, the butlers and cleaners were soon fired or quit, and my mother soon contracted a mysterious illness. Supposedly, it was some sort of disease carried by certain Grimm, it paralyzes the body with some sort of strange blood cells, and attacks both white and red blood cells. According to some witch doctors, the disease can turn people into some Grimm-human hybrid if the host lives with the disease for too long. But whether the words of supposed natural healers high on illicit drugs are to be trusted or not, that’s not for me alone to decide. It didn’t matter either in the end, as the doctors suggested she be euthanized, as there was no current cure for this rare disease. And my father, being the simplistic man that he is, agreed to this, despite my protests.

And after some odd number of years since then, I sit down writing this story now, in my desolated home. My father has long since abandoned this place to whatever squatters or robbers wish to invade it, while I took up the duty of defending my household, with nothing but a crossbow and what learned hand-to-hand combat I was taught. Most of my days had been spent reading books of esoteric lore that my grandfather had been hiding in the master bedroom for quite some time, collections upon collections organized on subjects that would be considered supernatural or fabricated to most people. Though I’ve yet to practice any of the blood magic or communication with the dead rituals described in a few of the many books I’ve scanned, my knowledge to comprehend and recite them from memory was possibly better than most people who aren’t devoted to this kind of world.

But none of this knowledge would have prepared me for the specter that appeared with no warning in the library that I resided myself in. At first, I hadn’t noticed him, as my attention was just focused on a book about love magic. Although fantasies of romance have crossed my mind from time to time, especially in the night whilst in my bed, my priorities were more focused on trying to make a name for myself and try to rebuild this graveyard of an estate. It wasn’t until the phantom cleared its throat that I grabbed my loaded crossbow, standing up, and pointing the weapon right on it in one swift motion. Unlike other intruders who have either run away or charged towards me before I had to put a bolt in their heart, this odd man just stood there, near naked. The tall man in some boxers stared at me with a curious smile, his eyes soon shifting around to the books around the library. All the while, I kept my aim on his chest, waiting to see what kind of reaction he’d do.

“Well, looks like I traveled back to the past. Or at least, I think so, given your clothes,” the man said, motioning towards my white blouse.

“It’s not exactly my first choice of clothing,” I replied

“Yeah, sure. So, what year is this exactly? Since I can understand you, I imagine we’re in the nineteenth or eighteenth century?”

My eyes narrowed. This ghastly person was either some sort of artifact from a bygone civilization that’s outside of recorded history, or perhaps was some sort of time-traveler. Regardless of the answer, why he chose to come to this estate or how he got here was my main anxiety.

“It’s been about eighty years since the Great War, maybe eighty-one. I haven’t kept a close track.

“The Great War? Guess I’m not that far back in time. Where is this place, and what’s your name?”

“You came here without knowing this residence or even the kingdom?”

"Kingdom? There shouldn’t be any kingdoms at this point in time.”

“Well, you’re in the kingdom of Atlas, in the country of Solitas. Now who exactly are you? If you don’t want to answer, either leave or get a bolt through the chest.”

“I’m Armand Issa, from the island of Saint Lucia. I just came here to try and find something, that’s it.”

“What, exactly, are you here for?”

“I’m just looking for a couple rings. One has a cross, the other one is an upside down cross. I lost them years ago, and I’ve been looking for them ever since. Got a tip that they might be here, which is why I’m here now, and unfortunately stumbled onto you.”

Instincts told me to pull the trigger, and the burning in my heart was echoing the same judgement. No rings like that were mentioned in either of the books that I had read, nor in my grandfather’s or father’s journals. But considering the man was in a near-transparent state, I doubted my bolt would be able to hurt him. However…

“What is your species, spirit? You speak like someone beyond my time, yet your form is that of a ghost, plus you complied under threat of my crossbow, despite your incorporeal form possibly immune to effects. Answer me this, are you from the Astral?”

“You’re able to see me, so clearly you have poly-vision. You should know the answer to that yourself.”

With that, I pulled the trigger on my crossbow. As I suspected, the bolt phased right through his body, and into the wooden door behind him. He didn’t look surprised that I shot at him, in fact his mood had hardly changed since we met, despite his confusion from coming into this world beyond his. I laid the crossbow on the seat I had occupied, crossing my arms across my chest as I studied his form under further scrutiny.

“You came here from the Astral. This isn’t your realm of origin, and used the powers of the fifth dimension, along with the suggestion from your ‘tip,’ to come here. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there’s no rings of that nature here. Begone before I banish you from this reality,” I spoke with spite.

“Wait, hold up. Although I don’t know exactly where it’s at, but I can feel its power in this dimension. Unfortunately, I don’t know what universe this is, and I don't know where my rings could be at in this world.”

It was clear what he was insinuating. Have a “local” find your lost treasures so they don’t have to stagger endlessly looking for it, and meet their demise if they arrive somewhere they’re not supposed to. I’ll admit, the scenario sounded inviting. The last time I had been outside other to get food or water was a very faint memory. But where would I even start to search for these rings would be difficult. The world was quite a big place, even if it only consisted of four kingdoms. With a snap of my fingers, I strolled over to the section of the library that focused on the history of Remnant. Within the text held an artist’s rendition of a map of the world, letting me calculate where the best choice to go first would be, while Armand just stood where I first noticed him and craned his head around the library.

The kingdom of Atlas would be a great starting point for me, as it was the only kingdom I had lived in, but I deduced that tackling the biggest continent, Sanus, would assist in tackling two kingdoms on one large landmass. But the question was which kingdom would be best to visit first. Vacuo would be the most straightforward, as its roads would lead me to Vale, and Mistral wouldn’t be too far of a travel from there. However, Vale would be the quickest route directing from Atlas, and from the different reports I’ve heard from news casts and hearsay from bystanders, Vale has had a moderate rise in odd occurrences happening; the most recent one being the Atlas military brought multiple airships and troops to the kingdom, for what reason escapes me.

With my decision realized, I slammed the book shut, putting it back to its shelf. But there was still one more question left to answer.

“Armand, although you came to this land through the Astral, will you be accompanying me for your rings?” I asked.

He spread his arms and shrugged his broad shoulders, replying, “I don’t know when my physical body will wake up. And when I travel back to the Astral, I might not be able to find you again.”

“Correct, however, it seems that your physical body won’t be travelling anywhere far, yes?”

He nodded his head.

“Than once I retrieve these rings of yours, I’ll make my way into the Astral and find you from there. You were able to travel to this universe, in theory I should be able to travel to yours.”

“That is entirely possible, yes. Do you know how to travel to the Astral?”

“I know the precautions and requirements I have to take, but I haven’t traveled to it yet. I know your name, but I don’t think you fully know mine. I am Knogle Kusligts, son of Uitare Kusligts. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, this is my first fanfic in a very long time. Hopefully people enjoy it, and I'll try to update this as frequently as I can. Not making any promises though, because we all know how well that goes on these sites.


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